Lost in the Shadows, Looking for the Light
by Avril L
Summary: Red X has mysreriously returned. Why? It starts with a kiss, but soons devlopes into kidnaping, and Starfire feels like she's going insane. Is Red X really in love with her, and is he going to hurt her? Red XStarfireRobin. Rating may increase.
1. Chapter 1

1

_She was beautiful._

Jumping from shadow to shadow. Hidden in the dark. Invisible.

_She was perfect._

The dark, gray clouds opened up, and the moonlight spilled onto the ground, illuminating the bay. The waves, roaring, crashing onto the rock island. The shore, empty.

_Her laughter haunted him._

He stood up and walked to the dock. It was deserted. As he pushed the small red button on his belt, his figure soon melted away. Molecule after molecule, atom after atom, his legs, arms, shoulders, and finally his face, blended in with the night sky.

Three or so young men, all huddled together in the shadow of a withered tree, said nothing as they watched it happen. Although surprising to see a human being disappear before their very eyes, the homeless were not in a place to interfere. Many times at night they would see a person gaze at that Tower. That peculiar T-shaped tower. Many times someone would attempt to sneak into the building, and they seldom succeeded. It was nothing new.

_She was intoxicating._

On the roof of the T-shaped tower, he reappeared again, shapes forming a body. When he could finally see his whole person, he slipped out a small, metallic object. To a pedestrian, this could have looked like a tube of lipstick. However, when he shook it, a red beam shot out through the top. Aiming the beam at the steel floor, he carefully cut open the shape of a square, just big enough to let him slip through. Trying not to touch the steaming edges, the thief silently slipped through the space.

He was in the Tower.

As the window opened, the soft white curtains danced with the whistling wind. In the dark, only two black, masked eyes could be seen. As he walked further into the room, his whole body emerged from the shadow. His two menacing eyes landed to the right of him: The bed.

He could hear her shallow breathing, her chest rising and falling. Her feet rested on her big violet pillow, while her head lay near the foot of the bed. A peculiar way of sleeping, no doubt.

But it was beautiful.

Her fiery red hair spread onto the bedsheets, the tips dangling over the edge. He knew that she had large emerald eyes under her currently closed eyelids. He had seen them up close the first day he met her.

Extending a gloved hand, he carefully reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her face. She smiled in her sleep. His grin widened. He extended his other arm slowly and cupped the side of her face, his other hand holding the back of her head. Her mouth opened slightly. His long fingers stroked her cheeks, her forehead, her nose. She moaned silently.

His face, once smiling cunningly, took an expression of surprise. Her eyes had opened. She looked at him for a minute, not saying anything. Just staring. He let go of her head.

And then she screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

He jumped backwards, crashing into a bookshelf. The red-haired princess had fallen onto the floor.

The thief rubbed his head. "Ugh...".

She had now produced two large, glowing balls of energy in her fists. He took a step back. "It's alright. You remember me, don't you?" he asked, giving her a dirty smile.

Her eyes just narrowed even more. "What are doing? How did you get in here?" she demanded. The two energy balls grew larger as he stepped closer to her.

"Hey, relax now, princess," he said cooly, hands held above his head to show he meant no harm. She didn't relax.

He grabbed her arm and tried to hold it, but she snatched it back. "Get away from me!" she cried, sending the green light straight toward the villain. He flew backwards, knocking into the closet. He winced at the pain in his abdomen.

"Starfire!" a female voice called. The two teenagers turned toward the voice. "Red X!" the new arrival hissed. She pulled up her blue hood over her gray face and purple hair, and raised her hands, preparing to attack.

"Hey, now, I don't need two crazy women ganging up on me!" The villain called Red X yelled. His face froze and he suddenly whipped around, just quick enough to grab Starfire's wrist before her flaming fists hit him again. She squirmed and twisted in his grasp, trying to break free. He grinned and grabbed her other arm.

"Come now, darling, you really don't wanna fight me, do you?" he said, holding the young girl's hands tightly. His hands snaked up her arms, up to her shoulders...

**_WHAM!_**

Red X sprawled backwards, landing painfully on his back. "Damn eyebeams..." he muttered bitterly.

"Robin, come here!" he heard the telepath yell. Less than a second later, a dark-haired, masked, spiky-haired young man came running into the room.

"Star, are you alright!" he yelled to the pretty Tamaranian. She gave an agitated "Sure..." and turned her heard toward Red X. Robin followed her gaze.

"You!" he cried.

This caught X's attention. He jumped up. "Why, hello, Robin," he greeted the team leader. Before anyone could react, Red X had already lunged a smoke pellet at him. Robin was thrown backwards, and smoke filled the room, blocking everyone's vision.

Starfire coughed and sputtered, her hand covering her mouth. Her two eyes became teary as she opened them to the smoke. Despite her situation, she gasped and kept her eyes opened. There was Red X, grinning menacingly at her. She just stared as he approached her and extended his arms. He held her face carefully in his hands and gently pressed his lips to her's. Her eyes widened and she groaned in protest. He let go of her face and pressed a button on his belt.

And then he disappeared.

"So you're sure he didn't take anything?"

"No. I am quite sure."

"He didn't steal anything?"

"No. Nothing."

"And he didn't say anything to you?"

"No. Nothing of importance."

The petite red-head sighed heavily. Her masked companion raised an eyebrow at her.

"Robin, I do not have any ideas as to what his motives were. I opened my eyes, and there he was. That is all I know," she said firmly, but distantly. Robin nodded and put down his notepad. Starfire scanned the room with her large green eyes. The tall gray walls were hardly noticeable from under all the newspaper clippings. A number of peculiar objects were seated on the large desk in front of her. It was dark, the only source of light being a lamp on top of the desk. This was the room that the Titans spent hours studying and planning strategies. The room Robin was always hidden in, deep inside, refusing to come out until he had made at least two hours of progress. The room Starfire liked the least.

Starfire shifted in her seat as Robin turned to face her. He lay his hands down on the steel desk and sighed.

"Starfire..." His expression had changed from one of seriousness to concern. "Are you sure you're alright? He didn't hurt you?"

"Robin..." Starfire placed her gentle hand on his. "I'm fine. Really," she said reassuringly. She gave him a small smile and stood up.

"I have to go feed Silkie. The poor thing is probably near starvation already," said Starfire with a little laugh. Robin returned her smile and led her to the door.

"So... I'll see you later," he said, holding the door open. Starfire gave him another short smile and turned around. She heard the door snap shut behind her as she walked down the hallway.

Robin leaned against the closed door. He ran a gloved hand through his dark hair and exhaled.

Red X was a confusing person. Sometimes he didn't even feel like a whole different person. He was a part of Robin, in a way. He had taught him a lesson that night, while they were both hunting for zynothium. He was a little like a guardian angel.

_Yeah. A guardian angel from Hell_, Robin thought bitterly, snorting. Standing straight again, he walked back to his desk and fell into the revolving chair. Leaning over the desk, Robin held his head in his hands, worry creeping onto his face.

Why had Red X returned?


End file.
